Lüderitz municipal workers call off two-week strike

LÃœDERITZ Town Council workers have called off a strike which had lasted 12 days after council management and the Namibia Public Worker’s Union (Napwu) yesterday reached agreement to end the long-standing wage dispute.

Napwu Southern Region Co-ordinator Edwin Chaka said all striking workers would report for work today. According to Chaka, the parties agreed that workers in bands A to C will receive a salary increase of N$300 a month while those in band D will receive a three per cent hike. Initially, workers had demanded a N$350 across the board wage hike while the company had offered four per cent across the board.Workers’ travel allowances will also be increased to N$350 from N$330.The parties further agreed to review their recognition agreement. This, Chaka said, stemmed from council management demands that managers should be excluded from the recognition agreement. He said the union had rejected the exclusion of the managers from the recognition agreement. ‘All these years managers were part of the recognition agreement. What is suddenly wrong?’ Chaka said. It was further agreed that striking workers would only be paid for four of the 12 days they were on strike. The Police Task Force members who were summoned to prevent striking workers from sabotaging water and electricity networks left the town after the agreement had been reached, Karas Deputy Commissioner Josephat Abel confirmed. The strike had crippled services at the town, with rubbish bins spilling over and drains overflowing. Attempts to get comment from town CEO Inge Ipinge yesterday proved futile. Lüderitz Mayor Emile Amupewa also declined to comment.luqman@namibian.com.na